Markus 9:17

9:17 A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute.

Markus 13:32

Be Ready!

13:32 “But as for that day or hour no one knows it – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son ¹  – except the Father.

Markus 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ²  forced ³  a passerby to carry his cross, ⁴  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ⁵  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

[13:32]  ¹ sn The phrase nor the Son has caused a great deal of theological debate because on the surface it appears to conflict with the concept of Jesus’ deity. The straightforward meaning of the text is that the Son does not know the time of his return. If Jesus were divine, though, wouldn’t he know this information? There are other passages which similarly indicate that Jesus did not know certain things. For example, Luke 2:52 indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; this has to mean that Jesus did not know everything all the time but learned as he grew. So Mark 13:32 is not alone in implying that Jesus did not know certain things. The best option for understanding Mark 13:32 and similar passages is to hold the two concepts in tension: The Son in his earthly life and ministry had limited knowledge of certain things, yet he was still deity.

[15:21]  ² tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ³ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ⁴ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).